Archive for Life
Life
“For a long time it had seemed to me that life was about to begin—real life. But there was always some obstacle in the way, something to be got through first, some unfinished business, time still to be served, a debt to be paid. Then life would begin. At last it dawned on me that these obstacles were my life.” —Alfred D’ Souza
The Mayonnaise Jar and 2 Cups of Coffee
A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front of him. When the class began, he wordlessly picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls. He then asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was.
The professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles rolled into the open areas between the golf balls. He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed it was.
The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else. He asked once more if the jar was full. The students responded with a unanimous “yes”.
The professor then produced two cups of coffee from under the table and poured the entire contents into the jar effectively filling the empty space between the sand. The students laughed.
“Now,” said the professor as the laughter subsided, “I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life. The golf balls are the important things- your family, your children, your health, your friends and your favorite passions-and if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full.
The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, your house and your car. The sand is everything else — the small stuff. “If you put the sand into the jar first,” he continued, “there is no room for the pebbles or the golf balls. The same goes for life. If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff you will never have room for the things that are important to you.
“Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness. Spend time with your children. Spend time with your parents. Visit with grandparents. Take time to get medical checkups. Take your spouse out to dinner. Ride your bike with friends or just feel the breeze. Play another 18.
There will always be time to clean the house and fix the disposal. Take care of the golf balls first — the things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand.”
One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the coffee represented. The professor smiled and said, “I’m glad you asked. The coffee just shows you that no matter how full your life may seem, there’s always room for a couple of cups of coffee with a friend.”
5 Things
Five simple things a day to stay sane. ht
Connect
Developing relationships with family, friends, colleagues and neighbours will enrich your life and bring you support.
Be Active
Sports, hobbies such as gardening or dancing, or just a daily stroll will make you feel good and maintain mobility and fitness.
Be Curious
Noting the beauty of everyday moments as well as the unusual and reflecting on them helps you to appreciate what matters to you.
Learn
Fixing a bike, learning an instrument, cooking – the challenge and satisfaction brings fun and confidence.
Give
Helping friends and strangers links your happiness to a wider community and is very rewarding.
What would you add?
Bigger Than Us
Yep.
I still watch Hannah Montana on a regular basis.
Last night I heard again the lyrics to a great song. I sure wish I could find a version of just Billy Ray and his acoustic. Anyway, enjoy.
Bigger Than Us — Miley Cyrus
I see your face, I look in your eyes
What you feel is no surprise
Everyone needs something to believe in
Tell me your dreams and I’ll tell you mine
In our hearts we’ll look inside
And see all the colors of a rainbow
And I know
We all want to believe in love
We all want to believe in something
Bigger than just us
We all want to be a part
Of the greater picture
That’s hanging in our hearts
Yeah it’s bigger than us
I want to see beyond my own little world
Grab your hand so we can twirl around the galaxy
See the world with clarity
Oooo, oooo we have such a long way to go
But I know, we’re getting closer every day
We all want to believe in love
We all want to believe in something
Bigger than just us
We all want to be a part
Of the greater picture
That’s hanging in our hearts
Yeah it’s bigger than us
It fills the universe
Lights the skies above
And rescues all our hearts with love
With love…
That’s what’s bigger than us (bigger than us come on!)
It’s love it’s love that’s bigger than us
It’s love it’s love that’s bigger than us
It’s love it’s love it’s love it’s love it’s love it’s love
We all wanna believe in love
We all wanna believe something
Bigger than just us
*Did You Know?
I went to a Billy Ray Cyrus concert in the early 90’s.
The Bucket List
Easily one of my top five favorite bloggers, whittakerwoman recently crossed another item off of her ‘Things To Do While I’m Alive’ list. Although I briefly considered something like this after watching The Bucket List earlier this year, I’ve never really put much thought into one of my own.
That said, I’m going to start one now. It’s going to be more of a work in progress, but at least it’s a start. I’m not sure mine is going to be as ambitious as Heathers is though.
• Adopt a child
• Pay off school loans
• Be 100% debt free
• Run a 10K
• Run a 1/2 marathon
• Run a marathon
• Run a sprint triathlon
• Go on a bicycle tour
• Visit every MLB ballpark
Wrigley Field, Yankee Stadium, Comerica Park, Tigers Stadium, Progressive Field, US Cellular Field, Ranger Ballbark in Arlington, Great American Ball Park, PNC Park, Citizens Bank Park, Dolphin Stadium, Nationals Park, Shea Stadium, Turner Field, Busch Stadium, Miller Park, Minute Maid Park, AT&T Park, Chase Field, Coors Field, Dodger Stadium, Petco Park, Camden yards, Fenway Park, Rogers Cetre, Tropicana Field, Kauffman Stadium, Metrodome, Angel Stadium, Oakland Coliseum, Safeco Field
• Attend a MLB Homerun Derby
• Attend The Masters
• Attend the Rose Bowl
• Teach a class in college
• Travel to:
Hawaii, Alaska, Colorado, Seattle, Oregon, Australia, Africa
• Visit Yosemite National Park
• Revisit Zweibrucken, Germany
• Read through the entire bible
• Volunteer at:
Soup Kitchen, Habitat for Humanity, Disaster Relief, Political Campaign, School, Big Brothers Big Sisters
• Lead someone to Jesus
• Coach a little league team
• See a moose in the wild
• See a whale in the wild
• Raft through the Grand Canyon
• Enjoy an alcoholic beverage
• Write a book
• See in concert:
U2, Sarah McLaughlin, Switchfoot, Keane, Trans-Siberian Orchestra
• Read:
Moby Dick, The Inferno, Don Quixote, War and Peace, Moby Dick, Crime and Punishment, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, The Chronicles of Narnia, The Catcher in the Rye, Frankenstein
Things accomplished before list was created:
• Lived in Germany
• Traveled to Paris
• Hiked Grand Canyon (twice)
• Traveled to Mt. Rushmore
• Traveled Hoover Dam
• Caribbean Cruise
• Traveled to Chicago, New York, Washington DC, Las Vegas
• Traveled to Spring Training in Florida and Arizona
What are some of the things on your bucket list?
A Brave New World
In a lot of ways this picture I took yesterday of Tanner, in his oversized backpack walking down the hall on his first day of Kindergarten, mirrors my current stage in life.
In the last few months I’ve been wrestling with the footprint I’m leaving in this life. I talk a ton about ideals and character, yet I’m doing very little of it myself. Just last night I was watching a documentary on Toms Shoes and thinking to myself how people like Blake Mycoskie completely get what it means to live out their lives in service to others—and thinking how tremendously I fail in doing that myself. I am constantly trying to perfect my life, while in the process neglecting the needs of those around me. That’s all got to change.
Like Tanner I have been adequately prepared to enter this new world of endless possibilities, and like Tanner I plan on facing this brave new world head on, and soaking up every second. Now I’ve just got to get a cool backpack to hold all my gear!
Joy Apparel
I just ordered a shirt from my new friend Jeff from Joy Apparel.
Joy apparel is a socially conscious t-shirt company created to promote peace and equality on a global scale. Here’s how it works.
1. Visit JoyTshirt.com
2. Pick a face (and passion)
3. Pick a color and size
4. Wait for your shirt to arrive
5. Wear your shirt and think about the person on your heart
6. Submit a photo of yourself for rest of the world to wear
When I was picking mine out I wanted a good passion to go with the face. It was great fun looking through all of the different passions each person stated. After a tough decsion I landed on Tim Mann from Toronto. His passion was simple and pretty close to one I would state — Music. Jesus. Loving People.
What’s your passion?
God Is Enough
I wasn’t going to mention the Steven Curtis Chapman tragedy today because if you run in my circles you’d be hard pressed not to have known about it already. But after visiting the blog they set up for condolences I was thinking how positive I am that the Chapman’s would get through this. From everything I know about them, their family put their faith in God to get them through this way before it ever happened.
This video came immediately to my mind.
Is God enough for you?
NOOMA 020 | Shells
From the guys at Nooma…
We’ll be streaming NOOMA 020 | Shells on the NOOMA Facebook Group page from Monday, May 19th at 12 noon EST to Wednesday, May 21st at 12 noon EST.
NOOMA 020 | Shells will be available at NOOMA.com on Monday, May 19th and will ship on or before June 10th. This film will also be available soon in retail stores and through many of your favorite online retailers.
Thanks for watching and inviting your friends to preview our newest film in the Rob Bell series of NOOMA.
Do you often find yourself saying, “I’m so busy” or “I just have so much to do”? It’s easy to get overwhelmed with appointments, gatherings, to-do lists. But what are we really doing with our time? Many of us are running from place to place and it seems like life is just passing us by. We’re doing so many things, a little bit of everything, and yet it doesn’t feel like much of a life. But most of us find it hard to say no. We feel obligated. There are so many good things to do. So many good causes to join. But while we’re busy doing all these good things, are we missing out on something great? Maybe saying no would be easier if we knew what it meant to say yes.
Click here to see the video.
(ht: Missio Dei)
